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Created by

13. July 2026

Making a Color-Changing LilyPad Patch

Sew a patch that glows in any color. A single RGB LED holds red, green and blue elements; by fading each one with the microcontroller's PWM pins you mix millions of colors and cycle through the rainbow. The e-textile version of the classic RGB colour-mixing project.

Intermediate

1-2 hours

Instructions

Sew the board and RGB LED

Sew a LilyPad Arduino onto felt. The RGB LED has four legs — bend each into a small loop so it can be sewn. Wire the common cathode (the longest leg) to -, and the red, green and blue legs to pins 5, 6 and 9. Keep the four lines from touching each other.

Materials for this step:

LilyPad Arduino Simple Board1 piece

LED - RGB Diffused Common Cathode - 5mm1 piece

Conductive Thread - 60g (Stainless Steel)1 spool

Wool Felt Sheet1 sheet

Tools needed:

Hand Sewing Needles (Assorted, 30-Pack)

Connect the programmer

Plug the LilyPad FTDI onto the programming header and connect the USB cable. Open the Arduino IDE and select the LilyPad Arduino board and its serial port.

Tools needed:

Computer with Arduino IDE

LilyPad FTDI Basic Breakout - 5V

USB-B Cable

Upload the color-mixing sketch

Paste this sketch and upload. It fades the LED through red, green, blue and the mixes using analogWrite (PWM).

lilypad_color_changing.inoarduino

// Mix colors on a common-cathode RGB LED.
// Red/Green/Blue legs on PWM pins 5, 6, 9; common cathode to - (GND).

const int RED_PIN = 5;
const int GREEN_PIN = 6;
const int BLUE_PIN = 9;

void setColor(int r, int g, int b) {
  analogWrite(RED_PIN, r);     // 0 = off, 255 = full
  analogWrite(GREEN_PIN, g);
  analogWrite(BLUE_PIN, b);
}

void setup() {
  pinMode(RED_PIN, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(GREEN_PIN, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(BLUE_PIN, OUTPUT);
}

void loop() {
  setColor(255, 0, 0);   delay(500);  // red
  setColor(0, 255, 0);   delay(500);  // green
  setColor(0, 0, 255);   delay(500);  // blue
  setColor(255, 255, 0); delay(500);  // yellow
  setColor(0, 255, 255); delay(500);  // cyan
  setColor(255, 0, 255); delay(500);  // magenta
  setColor(255, 255, 255); delay(500);// white
}

Watch it cycle, then mix your own

The LED fades through the colors on its own. Make your own by changing the three numbers in setColor(red, green, blue) — each 0–255. Note: at the LilyPad's lower voltage blue and green look a little dimmer than red, which is normal for RGB LEDs.

Go wireless and wear it

Plug a 3.7 V LiPo into the LilyPad Arduino's JST connector and switch on — the higher voltage also makes the colors brighter. Sew the felt onto a bag or costume for a colour-changing glow.

Materials for this step:

LiPo Battery 3.7V 1000mAh (JST Connector)1 piece

Materials

1
1
LilyPad Arduino Simple Board10% commission
1 piece
View
$19.60
1
1
LED - RGB Diffused Common Cathode - 5mm10% commission
1 piece
View
$19.60
1
1
Conductive Thread - 60g (Stainless Steel)10% commission
1 spool
View
$40.13
1
1
Wool Felt Sheet
1 sheet
Placeholder
5
5
Polymer Lithium Ion Battery - 1000mAh10% commission
1 piece
View
$9.59

Tools Required

1
1
Hand Sewing Needles
Placeholder
2
2
Computer with Arduino IDE
Placeholder
2
2
LilyPad FTDI Basic Breakout - 5V10% commission
View
$14.38
2
2
USB-B Cable
1 vendor sell this, none ship to you yet
Placeholder

Estimated Total

What the maker bought. Materials shown without a price are sourced wherever you buy them.

$88.92

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